Green won’t try to get Livingston, Iguodala to take less money

Updated 10:26 pm, Friday, February 17, 2017

Golden State Warriors' Draymond Green, center, Andre Iguodala, left, and Shaun Livingston, right, celebrate a three pointer by teammate Harrison Barnes, not pictured, during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Feb. 20, 2016, in Los Angeles. The Warriors won 115-112. (AP Photo/Danny Moloshok) less

Golden State Warriors' Draymond Green, center, Andre Iguodala, left, and Shaun Livingston, right, celebrate a three pointer by teammate Harrison Barnes, not pictured, during the second half of an NBA basketball ... more

Photo: Danny Moloshok, Associated Press

Green won’t try to get Livingston, Iguodala to take less money

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NEW ORLEANS — Communication is one of Draymond Green’s strengths. When his Warriors teammates are taking plays off, the All-Star power forward seldom hesitates to get them back on task.

With much of the roster pending free agents, Golden State is staring down a summer rife with difficult decisions. It raises an intriguing question: Would Green, a shrewd negotiator in his own right, try to convince the likes of Shaun Livingston and Andre Iguodala to take less than their market value to re-sign with the Warriors?

“I don’t feel the need to go tell Shaun and Andre: ‘Yo, go take less money, money isn’t everything,’” Green said during his media scrum Friday at All-Star weekend. “I don’t feel the need to say that, nor will I say that. You can’t tell a guy what money he should make or what’s important to him or his pocket. I don’t count anyone else’s pocket.

“Will we recruit them and want them back? Hell yeah. We’ll do everything we can to get them back. But I’m not going to tell them, ‘Hey, man, you should stay here for a little less money.’”

Under the new collective bargaining agreement, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant can return to Golden State for contracts starting at $36 million next season. The front office might be left with limited funds to round out its roster. In addition to Livingston and Iguodala, Ian Clark, Zaza Pachulia, David West, James Michael McAdoo and JaVale McGee are set to be free agents this summer.

One player the Warriors won’t have to worry about yet is Green, who is in the second year of a five-year, $82 million deal. But this much seems already clear: Green, a strong candidate for the CBA’s new designated player exception when his deal ends in 2020, is willing to prioritize winning over money.

“Money doesn’t motivate me,” Green said. “I didn’t even take the full max amount of money I could’ve got on this contract I’m on now. It’s not about that for me. … I don’t need that to feel validated. I’d rather win.”

Weber a D-League All-Star: The Warriors have assigned guard Briante Weberto their NBA Development League affiliate in Santa Cruz.

The move allows Weber to participate in the D-League All-Star Game, which tips off Saturday morning in New Orleans. He signed his second 10-day contract with the Warriors on Tuesday. He has played in five games with Golden State.

Before joining the Warriors, he averaged 16.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 7.4 assists and 3.3 steals in 31 games for the D-League’s Sioux Falls Skyforce. Weber was named D-League Player of the Month for January.